Nehemiah

These are the priests and the Levites who came back with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and with the High Priest Jeshua:Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,

Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,

Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah,

Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,

Shemaiah; also: Joiarib, Jedaiah,

Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah.

These were the heads of the priests and their relatives in the days of Jeshua:

And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, Mattaniah—the latter with his relatives, directed the hymns of thanksgiving

while Bakbukiah, Unno, and their relatives, in their respective groups, formed an alternate choir.

Jeshua was Joiakim’s father of Eliashib, Eliashib’s father of Joiada,

Joiada’s father of Johanan, and Johanan’s father of Jaddua.

In the days when Joiakim was High Priest, the heads of the priestly clans were: the clan of

Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;

of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;

of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;

of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;

of Abijah, Zichri; of Miamin…; of Moadiah, Piltai;

of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;

also: of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;

of Sallu, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;

of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

The heads of the families of priests recorded in the Book of Chronicles up to the reign of Darius, the Persians, are from the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua.

The descendants of Levi are recorded in the Book of Chronicles as heads of families up to the days of Johanan, son of Eliashib.

The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua, son of Kadmiel, and their colleagues who stood opposite them to offer praise and thanks, one contingent corresponding to the other, as specified by David, the man of God.

Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers; they stood guard at the storehouses near the gates.

These lived in the days of Joiakim, son of Jeshua, grandson of Jozadak, and Nehemiah, the governor, and of Ezra, priest and scholar of the law.

Inauguration of the Wall

When the wall of Jerusalem was inaugurated, the Levites were summoned from all the places where they lived; they came to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with joy, with songs of thanksgiving, with the music of cymbals, harps, and lyres.

The singers from the neighboring regions and the villages of Netophath,

Beth-Gilgal, and the districts of Geba and Azmaveth gathered together in Jerusalem because the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem.

The priests and the Levites purified themselves and then purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

I then ordered the leaders of Judah to stand on top of the wall, and I organized two grand choirs. The first advanced on top of the wall in the southern part, facing the Gate of the Garbage Dump;

behind them went Hoshaiah and half the leaders of the Jews;

and also Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,

Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah.

The priests and then the musicians with the trumpets came: Zechariah, son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph,

with his brothers, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, Hanani, carrying the musical instruments of David, the man of God. Ezra, the teacher of the law, stepped forward before them.

They went straight on, up to the Fountain Gate, near the steps of the city of David, along the top of the wall of the house of David, as far as the Water Gate, on the east.

The second choir marched to the left. I followed it with half the people’s leaders along the top of the wall, passing through the Tower of the Furnaces and as far as the Wide Wall,

over the Gate of Ephraim, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, as far as the Sheep Gate, and we stopped at the Watch Gate.

Then, the two choirs took their places in the house of God. Half of the counselors,

and the priests Eliakim,

Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, who were carrying the trumpets, were at my side, together with Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers chanted their songs under the direction of Jezrahiah.

Great sacrifices were offered that day, and the people rejoiced, for God had bestowed great joy on them. The women and the children also participated in the feast. And the shouts of joy of Jerusalem could be heard far away.

At that time, supervisors were appointed to guard the storage rooms where the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes were kept. They were to store portions from the different cities of the territory required by the law for the priests and Levites. The people of Judah rejoiced to see the priests and Levites doing their duty.

They performed the liturgy of their God and the purification ceremonies with the singers and the gatekeepers, as David and his son Solomon commanded.

From the beginning, from the days of David and Asaph, there had been song leaders and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.

During the time of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, the whole of Israel gave the singers and the gatekeepers what was necessary for each day. The sacred objects were entrusted to the Levites, and what was for the sons of Aaron was given to them.